Rice football travels to FAU this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a pair of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the UAB win and looked at the week ahead, detailing what they’re expecting to see when FAU takes the field.

More: Rice Football – Blue and Gray Preview Show

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“I’m really confident in the way we’re preparing right now. I think our teams is excited. I think we’re all excited for this trip to Boca Raton. We understand what we’re up against. FAU is a very well-coached team, from Coach (Willie) Taggart to all of his coordinators right on down the line. It’s just a great staff. They have great athletes. So we understand what a great challenge its going to be for us this weekend. But, at the same time, we’re doing what we do. We’re worrying about us. That’s exactly how we want it to be.” – Mike Bloomgren on facing FAU

“I think you’re playing a team from South Florida. You’re going to have great speed. You’re going to have great length and you see those things. You see some twitchy dudes that make plays. Let’s start with quarterback. N’Kosi Perry was a very highly recruited kid. He started his career at The U. Now he’s been at FAU for two years. He has the ability to affect the game with his legs and he’s got a great arm. It starts there. All of their skill [players] run so incredibly well. Their lines have gotten better and better every year. Looking at the jump they made from last year to this year, both their offensive and defensive lines are tremendously improved.” – Mike Bloomgren on the FAU roster

“Listening to people that know [offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon], he doesn’t want to be one of these air raid gurus. He doesn’t want to throw the ball. He actually wants to create lanes to run the ball and he wants to run the ball down your throat so that’s going to be a big matchup for our run stopping defnese against their creative offense. And then how can we do a great job in the secondary making sure N’Kosi Perry doesn’t get those fast guys behind us?” – Mike Bloomgren on key matchups vs FAU 

“They have good athletes all around so that’s going to be something we have to be cautious of, but I obviously think we have good athletes as well so it’s going to be a good matchup for us. There athletes and the way they fly around for the ball, I think it’s going to be a good challenge for us.” – Quarterback TJ McMahon on FAU’s strengths 

“Their o-line is solid. They have a very athletic quarterback, you can’t just run in there with your hair on fire. We’re getting ready to stop that and we have a good gameplan going forward.” – Linebacker Chris Conti 

Depth Chart

Depth Chart Notes

There were two changes to the offensive depth chart, the first being a mere formality. Isaac Klarkowski, who started at right guard for the Owls against UAB is officially listed back on the depth chart this week as the team readies for FAU. The only other change on that side of the ball is at tight end where Nate Kamper is listed and could be in line for his 2022 debut.

The Roost Podcast: Recapping Rice football vs UAB

The defense is arrayed exactly the same as it was last week, at least on paper. Make sure you’re tuned in on Patreon for a practice update later in the week with any adjustments and changes as we look ahead to Saturday against FAU.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Rice football hosts UAB this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a pair of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Houston loss and looked at the week ahead, detailing what they’re expecting to see when UAB takes the field.

More: Rice Football – Blue and Gray Preview Show

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“I think it looks like their football team. It’s big, physical and sound in every phase. From what I understand, Brian Vincent is still calling the offense. That hasn’t seemed like it’s changed much. I think it’s the same defensive coordinator. Coach Reeves, I think, is calling and planning it. It looks really similar right now.

The players on that side of the ball look really similar too. The edge rushers, the run, and hit linebackers. It seems like Noah Wilder, their leading tackler has been there for 10 years. There’s a lot of great players. The running backs that they have; I love our running back room, but the production that they’ve had from their running backs is out of sight. A lot of it stems from the fact that they’ve brought back everybody on the offensive line. It’s a really good football team that presents really good challenges in every phase.” – Mike Bloomgren on UAB under interim head coach Bryant Vincent

“They were the bully. And our first year here in 2018, we couldn’t move the ball seemingly an inch and they were an outstanding team in 2018. They were the standard. They were the one we pointed to. They were the bulley. And the facts are we went up there last year and we won the game and we put some physical stuff on film in that game as well. So they can put up whatever quotes I want. They’ve got to come down here to Houston. They’ve gotta play these guys. These guys are a physical football team that prepares incredibly well. I have no doubt it’s going to be a physical football game. But I don’t think any words in a locker room are going to win or lose this game.” – Mike Bloomgren on UAB being the former bully of Conference USA

“UAB is a very good opponent. We’re excited to play them. Each week we prepare the same. Our process; it’s all about us. So this week with UAB, we just got to focus on fixing our mistakes, fixing those little things that really in the fourth quarter against Houston, bit us.” – Center Shea Baker on preparing for UAB

“I think in this defense the more time you put in the slower the game moves and this year I’ve been able to see the game a lot faster on my end but its moving slower as far as how I can react and play faster so I feel like I’ve been more of the hammer and not the nail this year and really just been able to play more confidently.” – Linebacker Myron Morrison on his growth this season

Depth Chart

Depth Chart Notes

The biggest change reflects how Rice football opened their game against Houston last week along the offensive line. Trey Phillippi is now listed as the starting left guard rather than a reserve offensive tackle. Shea Baker is back at center after Isaac Klarkowski was listed on the depth chart last week but did not play. We’ll have more on how exactly we expect the offensive line to be deployed for our subscribers later this week.

At wide receiver, Kobie Campbell is now officially listed over Tyson Thomspon. That’s more or less a formality at this point as Campbell has had a few key catches over the last few games and Thompson has yet to see the field in much more than a special teams capacity.

The Roost Podcast: Recapping Rice football vs Houston

On defense, De’Braylon Carroll has regained his spot on the depth chart as he works himself back to 100 percent. That bodes well for his starting chances this coming weekend.

Additionally, the only OR designation on that side of the ball was dropped with Chris Conti officially being listed as the starting Mike linebacker, something that’s essentially been how this team has operated throughout September.

There is one new name listed: corner Tre’shon Devones is back after an extended absence. He was on the practice field this week for the first time this season. He’ll be phased back into the defense.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Next up, Rice football takes on Houston in the battle for the Bayou Bucket. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren and players had to say about the matchup.

Rice football Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a pair of players met with the media on Tuesday for their customary weekly availability. They previewed they revisited the Louisiana win before turning their attention to the Houston game, discussing the rivalry and how much it mattered to both sides.

An updated depth chart was not yet available, but it is expected to be released soon. Check back here for that and practice updates reserved for our Patreon subscribers. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“It’s the next one on our schedule. It will always be a big deal in recruiting. I don’t want to go away from that fact. We recruit a lot of our team from Texas and the city itself. So, anytime you can win an in-city rivalry or any in-state game, it helps. But the thing for our team is that we have another opportunity to play together this Saturday. We’ve got another opportunity this Tuesday, today, to have the best Tuesday practice of the year and that’s what we’re focused on.” – Mike Bloomgren on the significance of this game 

“I think Clayton Tune, when he’s on, he is as hard to deal with as maybe anybody we’ve played except for [Caleb Williams]. And the thing that’s sneaky is he’s got good arm talent, he does a good job distributing the ball, but he’s a sub 11-flat 100-meter guy. He can really roll. And that’s what gets lost until he brings it out of the pocket and you’re like, ‘Oh goodness, there he goes.” – Mike Bloomgren on UH QB Clayton Tune

“Our goal this week is no different than any week. It’s a fun week. It’s a great week to be a part of this program. But our goal is to go 1-0 and not let our process change one bit. We need to understand that all the confidence that we earned from the victory last week should also be the confidence in our prep and how we go about our business week-to-week.” – Mike Bloomgren on the team’s approach this week

“I’m not from Texas. I’m not from Houston, but being a Rice football player, it’s become part of my identity. At this point, this game has started becoming more and more meaningful to me. At this point, it’s a full fledged rivalry for me. I definiely have ill feelings towards these guys and definitely want to get revenge for last year, so I’ll be playing with a lot of emotion, a lot of passion and doing it for my brothers.” – Defensive end Ikenna Enechukwu on the signficance of the rivalry

“It means a lot. Anytime you have the chance to step on the football field, it’s such a blessing… Every opportunity is a special opportunity, especially when you’re playing someone so close. I remember the whole entire offseason, you look at billboards of UH around the city and you kind of look at it with a disgusting look. To have this game, it sticks with you for a little bit longer than others.” – Wide receiver Luke McCaffrey on the signficance of the rivalry

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Rice football plays Louisiana this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup, injury updates and depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a pair of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the McNeese win and looked at the week ahead, detailing what they’re expecting to see when Louisiana takes the field.

More: Rice Football – Blue and Gray Preview Show

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“We have shifted our focus to a very good Louisiana team. A team that comes in here with the nation’s longest winning streak, 15 games in a row. I think Billy Napier did an unbelievable job building that program in a lot of ways from the ground up, and it doesn’t seem like they’ve missed a beat. They’re right in here coming into our stadium 2-0. They have a lot of the same schemes on both sides of the ball. They’re a little bit different on special teams, but, again, just doing a really good job on every phase of the game. It’s going to be an outstanding challenge for us this week. It’s one that we are excited about.” – Mike Bloomgren on Louisiana

“It was absolutely crucial. Whomever your leaders are, in any organization, they have got to set the tone. The speed of the leaders is the speed of the pack. So, when those guys go out there and go show everyone, this is the tempo we’re going to practice at, this is the focus that we’re going to have, hopefully, and their coaches have really coached them through the years. But now that we’ve got great leaders in place, they are doing a great job. I don’t know how much we’re having to use our voice as coaches to get effort. That makes it a lot of fun.” – Mike Bloomgren on team leaders stepping up last week

“Me and TJ have a pretty good relationship. We were roommates [last year]. So we have a really good relationship and seeing each other go through some difficult times and kind of being there for each other. It was really fun seeing each other have so much success, especially when it’s together. So that was really good to see him perform and he’s going do to some great things for us.” – Wide receiver Bradley Rozner on his relationship with QB TJ McMahon

“Honestly, we took last Monday’s practice the same way we took this Monday’s practice. We practice the same way we always do because we’re Rice Owls. We’re here to make a play and show what we can do. Every practice is its own entity and we know that as long as we come out and perform the best way we can in practice the results will show.” – Safety Treshawn Chamerlain on the team’s mentality in practice this week 

Depth Chart

Depth Chart Notes

The offensive line is the biggest area of change on this week’s depth chart. Isaac Klarkowski has been removed and Shea Baker has slid over to his spot. That’s what the Owls did for last weekend’s game against McNeese and will be the plan moving forward for as long as Klarkowski is sidelined

This week they’ve bumped John Hughes up to right guard in Baker’s place and opted to keep Onianwa at right tackle.

The Roost Podcast: Recapping Rice football vs McNeese

Also new on this week’s depth chart, Boden Groen has been reinserted. He’s trending towards being available this week after missing the McNeese game following an injury suffered against USC.

At quarterback, all signs point toward another start for TJ McMahon with Wiley Green not listed again this week.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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